


Harry Potter and the Butterfly Effect

by newpseudnewfandomsnoregerts (Winshieldwipernoises), Winshieldwipernoises



Series: The Devil is in the Details [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:22:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24779089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winshieldwipernoises/pseuds/newpseudnewfandomsnoregerts, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winshieldwipernoises/pseuds/Winshieldwipernoises
Summary: I'm sure we've all wondered.If I had done just this one tiny thing differently, what would be different? If I had made one different decision, where would I be now?Harry spends a lot of time wondering in his cupboard under the stairs. There's not really much else to do in there.What he doesn't know, is that his very life is a look at such an existence.If one little detail were out of place, how would the whole world change?
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: The Devil is in the Details [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1792165
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

Harry dreaded his cousin Dudley's birthday more than any singular day out of the year.

Except his own. 

It wasn't that he got stuck with Mrs. Figg on his own birthday No, it was much worse than that. 

Harry didn't get to _have_ a birthday, and he rather hated that. 

He didn't expect his 11th to be any different, but a few days before his birthday he'd received a letter.

It had been addressed to him. 

_Mr. H Potter_

_The Cupboard Under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

Harry didn't know any other boys that lived in a cupboard under some stairs, much less at the address of 4 Privet Drive, so he assumed the letter was meant for him. 

Upon first seeing the letter, he had been very confused. He didn't have any friends to write to him, no family other than the dreadful Dursleys with whom he lived. There was really no one to send letters to Harry, so how should he be receiving any.

But there it was. Thick parchment, official seal and all, addressed to one Mr. H Potter.

The first thing he did was stuff that letter into the band of his pants and hide it beneath his shirt. 

"Hurry up with that mail, boy!" his uncle shouted from the living room.

Harry hurriedly grabbed the other two letters, one a bill, the other a postcard, and went into the living room.

"Give those to me!" His uncle snatched the bill and the postcard from his hand, glaring at Harry. "Took you long enough," he muttered darkly, "I won't tolerate slothfulness in _my_ home! To your cupboard!"

Harry ducked out of the way of a cuff on the ear and darted away, into the relative safety of his cupboard. 

Rather ironic that Uncle Vernon is getting at _him_ for being lazy. Had he seen Dudley recently? If Harry's cousin got any bigger, Harry was quite sure he would turn into some strange berry, like Violet from Willy Wonka. Nobody asked him though, so he was sure Dudley would keep right on growing. 

Harry hoped dearly that he wasn't around when his cousin finally exploded. 

Shuddering at the thought of an exploding Dudley, Harry pulled out his letter, and ran his fingers over the thick parchment reverently. 

He'd never received anything before. 

He almost didn't want to ruin it by opening the envelope, but he just had to see what was inside.

Carefully as he could, he broke the seal and pulled out a folded piece of the same thick parchment as the envelope. He unfolded the paper, just as slowly and carefully and read over the contents.

Then he read over them again. 

And then again, once more. 

There was no way this was true. 

Someone was playing a very cruel joke on him. 

Probably, Dudley.

But there was no way Dudley or any of his crew were this clever. 

No way a single one of them could come up with a lie like this. 

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_  
Dear Mr. Potter,_

_  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely,_

  
Minerva McGonagall,  
Deputy Headmistress

Whoever had sent this must be very cruel, indeed. 

Harry had no way of knowing if this was real.

And if it were, he had no way of showing up to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry anytime, much less than by September 1st.

And what on earth was this talk about sending an owl?

Harry didn't _own_ an owl. As far as he knew, one _couldn't_ own owls, much less train them to send letters to magical schools that may or may not exist. 

Harry read over the letter one more time. 

It sounded official enough, but even so.

He sighed deeply. Here was an opportunity to get out of Privet Drive and he'd never be able to take it. 

There was a knock on the door. 

Not Harry's door, mind you, but the front door, which Harry could hear from his cupboard under the stairs.

"Harry!" Aunt Petunia shrieked from the kitchen, "Go see who's at the door!"

Harry sighed again. Back to dreary reality with him. He almost wanted to throw a Dudley sized tantrum right then, but he held himself back, stuffed his letter under his cot and headed to the front door, glumly. 

Dudley tripped him on the way there, causing his glasses to break over the nose, and his head to ache where he smashed on the floor.

The doorbell rang this time. 

"Hurry up, you lazy child!" Peturnia shrieked.

Harry winced at her voice, but hurried to his feet and opened the front door, rubbing his forehead. 

On the other side of the door, two men were standing, arguing with each other over whether to ring the doorbell again. 

"Hello? Who are you?" Harry asked, interrupting their argument. He eyed their strange clothes warily. They looked like something out of an old history book, in their long cloaks, like some sort of odd of princes.

They both jolted and turned to him quickly. 

The one with longer hair looked at Harry with wide eyes for several seconds, before he broke out in a large grin and moved forward. 

To Harry's surprise, the man leaned down and wrapped his arms around Harry, lifting the rather small boy off the ground and twirling around with him, laughing. "Harry!" the man exclaimed, "I've waiting nearly 11 years to see you! It's been torturous." He set Harry back down on the ground, leaving one hand on his shoulder and eyeing him with bright, happy eyes. "Merlin, you look just like James," the man murmured, his eyes taking on a far away look now. 

"You knew my father?" Harry asked, looking up in surprise.

"Knew him? Your father was my best friend." The man laughed. The sound was pleasant, easy. Harry liked him already, lifting and twirling aside. "I often wished I knew him less!"

The other man, that Harry hadn't looked at in a while, rolled his eyes and laughed a little as well.

"Harry Potter!" Uncle Vernon shouted from inside the house, still, "I don't know what's gotten in to you head, boy, but your Aunt Petunia and I expect you to DO AS YOUR TOLD!" He came up behind Harry, face red and looking about ready to throw him back in the cupboard by hand. "We told you to _answer_ the door not stand in front of it like a bloody _statue_!" He grabbed Harry by the ear and turned to the two men, finally. "Forgive my-"

Vernon Dursley had hardly lifted his head up from glaring at Harry before he was being shoved into the house and corned against a wall by the man with dark hair, who suddenly looked a lot less happy, and much more terrifying. 

"HOW DARE YOU!" he yelled, "HURT MY HARRY!" He whipped out a long, thin piece of wood and held it menacingly to Vernon's throat.

Uncle Vernon went totally pale and his eyes bugged in his face. Harry nearly couldn't contain the laughter in his throat as Uncle Vernon wiggled and whined, nearly whimpering in the hold of the tall dark-haird man. 

Harry watched with wide eyes as Aunt Petunia came hurrying from the kitchen. She froze in horror when she saw her husband, and fainted straight away when the man at Uncle Vernon's throat glanced at her and growled low in throat as she went for Harry. He nearly lost it right then, too. 

"Sirius." The other man stepped into the house and put his hand on the attacker's arm. "Sirius, you're scaring him."

The one apparently called Sirius glanced over at Harry and noted how he was curled into a corner of the wall, watching them all with wide eyes.

Sirius lowered his stick slowly, letting go of Uncle Vernon. "Right," he said, giving a small cough, "I uh...I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to attack your Uncle."

"Oh, could you please do it again?" Harry blurted. He clapped a hand over his mouth and looked cautiously at Uncle Vernon, who was now kneeling beside Aunt Petunia, still looking frightened, and like he was about to explode. 

Sirius and the other man looked at each other in surprise, and then they both burst out laughing.

"GET OUT!" Uncle Vernon roared, interrupting them, "GET OUT OF MY BLOODY HOUSE, YOU FREAKS! AND TAKE THAT STUPID BOY WITH YOU!"

The two men sobered immediately and looked over at Harry.

"So, I'm your godfather, Sirius. This is Remus. We're here to help you get your school things. What do you say coming with us, Harry?" Sirius asked him, keeping his eyes on Uncle Vernon and he stood, fists clenched in rage. 

"Oh, yes, please," Harry answered, grabbing on to Sirius's proffered hand.

Sirius grinned and the three of them ran out of the house. The door slammed unceremoniously behind them, breaking off Vernon's shout of "AND DON'T YOU DARE COME BACK!"

Once outside, the three of the paused on the driveway and looked at each other. Then Remus and Sirius burst out laughing once more and Harry couldn't help the confused smile on his face as he watched them.

"Oh, the look on their faces," Remus laughed, "priceless. James and Lily would've loved that."

Sirius shook his head, still laughing. "Honestly, though, did they think we weren't going to come for him at some point?"

Harry looked between the two of them confused.

When Remus noticed his expression, he placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "Best you come with for know, dear," he said, "we'll explain everything when we get to Diagon Alley."

"Diagon Alley?" Harry asked, "How are we going to get there?"

"Merlin, did they not tell you anything? Nothing at all?" Sirius asked, shaking his head. "Diagon Alley is in London. We're going to get there by apparition."

"Appar-what-now?" Harry looked between the two in confusion.

Remus just sighed. "Best to close your eyes, Harry. Sirius and I are going to bring to you Diagon Alley, where we'll have lunch and then do the shopping." He grabbed onto Harry's hand almost tightly enough to hurt. "Don't let go, whatever you do, got it?"

Harry nodded and held on to Remus's hand equally tight. 

Then there was a loud crack and Harry felt like he was being pulled in all directions, and simultaneously squeezed through some sort of tube and then there was another pop and they were standing at the entrance to a small pub. 

"Well, welcome to the wizarding world, Harry," Sirius said from behind him, clapping a hand on his shoulder, "the Leaky Couldron isn't exactly the most glamorous introduction but it's what you get."

"Brilliant," Harry said, awed as he looked up at the rather dark, shabby pub. The exact sort of place Uncle Vernon would've shuddered at and walked the exact opposite direction with an upturned nose. 

"How about some lunch, eh?" Remus asked, leading Harry inside.

Harry followed after grinning and grabbing Sirius's hand as they walked in. 

If there were ever an exciting adventure to happen in Harry Potter's life, surely it would start now. 


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you know about the wizarding world, Harry?" Remus asks as they sit at a table in the leaky cauldron. 

"Wizarding world?" Harry asks, "you mean that letter was real?" He looks between the two men with wide eyes. 

Siruis and Remus share a mildly concerned look before turning back to Harry.

"Ah, yes, quite real," Sirius assures him, "you're enrolled for the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry there is: Hogwarts. And you're due to start in September, if you'd like to."

"I'd like to," Harry says excitedly, "I can't believe it! Wizards are _real_?"

"Yes, Harry, very real." Remus smiles kindly at him. "In fact, Sirius and I are wizards."

"Are you?! Is that how you could just appear in London from my Aunt and Uncles? Magic?!" Harry's eyes sparkle as he starts to finally believe that all of this is real.

"Right, again, my boy." Sirius grins. "Wizards and witches are real. You're one, and you'll be going to a magical school very shortly."

"What's Hogwarts like?" Harry asked.

Before either of them could answer, a waitress came over to them and they placed orders.

Sirius turned back to Harry. "Hogwarts is amazing," he tells him, "the first day you get there, you'll be sorted into a house by the Sorting Hat, and then you'll get to start learning things like Charms and Potions and Flying. And in your second year you'll even get to play sports. Ooh, you'll probably get to meet Hagrid on the boat trip to the castle. Oh and the train ride from platform 9 3/4 is so much fun! The trolley woman has all sort of wizarding sweets like Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean and Chocolate Frogs and Pumpkin Pasties." 

Remus chuckled at Sirius's eager expression that nearly mirrored Harry's own. 

"What houses are there?" Harry asked, "Which is the best and how can a hat sort people? Which sweet is the best? What sports do they play? What's Flying class?"

Remus laughed. "That's a lot of questioned, Harry."

"Well, I don't know anything!" Harry defended, "I have to ask all these questions."

"He's not wrong, Moon," Sirius added, "we'll answer all your questions that we can." He thought for a moment. "Well, let's start with the first questions. There are four houses. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. The best house is-"

"None of them," Remus interrupts, giving Sirius a look, "all of the houses are perfectly fine. They've all had some great wizards and witches come from them, as well as some less fortunates. Sirius and I were in Gryffindor, and so was your father, but the man who allowed your parents murder was also in Gryffindor, so it's really up to you which house you end up in. The hat takes into account your personality and suggests a house for you, but ultimately you get to choose your house."

Harry nods slowly and then he realizes something. "What do you mean my parents were murdered? My parents died in a car crash."

Siruis and Remus share another look.

"Your parents didn't die in a car crash, Harry," Sirius says slowly, "they were killed."

Harry didn't know how to process that. "My Aunt and Uncle told me they died in a car accident," he says again. 

"Oh, Harry," Remus says sympathetically. He moves from the side of the booth he was sitting on with Sirius to the side with Harry, wrapping one arm around the small boy. 

Harry lets Remus pull him into his side. "It was a car crash."

"No, dear," Remus tells him gently, "there was a very, very bad wizard trying to gain a lot of power in the wizarding world ten years ago. He did gain a lot of power actually, but your mum and dad were some of those that stood up to him. That made the bad wizard very angry, and he determined to kill them. They were sold out by one of our old friends, and Voldemort, that's the bad guy, got to them. He killed them. He tried to kill you."

Harry shivered and moved closer to Remus. 

"But he couldn't," Sirius took up, "your mother sacrificed herself for you and her love prevented Voldemort from killing him. Her love was so strong that not only did you become the only person to ever survive the Killing Curse, but Voldemort's body was destroyed. He is no more."

"You're the most famous wizard in history, Harry, and you're only 10 years old," Remus concluded, "Dumbledore thought it would be better for you to grow up away from the fame and notoriety, so he sent you to live with your Aunt and Uncle. Siruis and I fought for a long time to get to care for you, but we never won."

"But we get to do it now. Now that you're old enough to start learning magic, there's no way to keep you from your reputation, so there's no reason for you to stay with your muggle family. It'll be better for you to stay with Remus and I and if Dumbledore can't see that sense, then he's an old-"

"Sirius,"Remus cut in, warning.

Sirius stopped suddenly and cleared his throat. "Anyway, that's the story."

"Is that why everyone has been staring at me," Harry asked, glancing around Remus and looking around the pub. There were people all over staring right at him, looking warily at Sirius and Remus, and skirting around them as if they wanted to go up to Harry but were too afraid.

Remus grimaced. "Yes, that would be why there's so much staring."

Their food arrived soon after that, and they ate, quickly. Sirius and Remus continued to answer any question Harry threw at them and laughing deeply when he asked any they found amusing. Harry was beginning to like the two of them a good deal, and wishing that what they had said about living with them instead of the Dursley's was true. He never wanted to return to the Dursley's again.

Soon enough, they finished their food and Sirius and Remus led Harry through the pub and out into a small, walled courtyard that was rather barren. Only a few weeds and a trash can were in the otherwise dead grass.

"Alright then, since you're learning all this here, to get to Diagon Alley, you come to Leaky Cauldron and tap this brick here. Three up, two over." Sirius tapped the brick with the stick he now knew was a magical wand and watched, astonished, as the bricks moved themselves back and opened up to reveal a bustling street with shops lined up on either side. 

"Brilliant," he murmured, grinning as he looked as far down the path as he could. 

"Well, let's go exploring then," Siruis said, grabbing on to Harry's hand and leading him into Diagon Alley. 

"First, we have to go to Gringott's to get some money," Remus told him, as he followed behind the two, "that's the big white building with the bronze doors." He pointed just ahead of them and, sure enough, there was a large white building with bronze doors towering over the rest of the shops. 

"It's the central wizarding bank here in London," Sirius explained, "it's run by goblins and is definitely the most secure place outside of Hogwarts."

When they entered the building, Harry was surprised to find another set of doors, this time silver. They held the engraving:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there._

He shuddered at the warning. 

Remus noticed and gave a soft laugh. "Yeah," he said, "you'd have to be a bit mad to try to rob Gringott's. The goblins might have nasty tempers, but they keep things very safe here."

Two goblins bowed them into a long marble hallway, where there were tables all along the sides. They walked up to the largest desk Harry had ever seen, at the end of the hall and right in the middle. 

Currently, there was a large man standing there, talking to the person at the desk. It was probably the largest man Harry's ever seen. He would be surprised if the man would've even fit in his Aunt and Uncle's house. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault 713," he was saying.

The goblin at the desk called for someone else to take the man down into the vault when he glanced back and saw Sirius and Remus standing with Harry.

"Sirius!" the man boomed, jovially, "been a good while, 'eh?"

"Indeed, it has, Hagrid," Sirius answered, smiling at the giant.

"Yeh here to get 'arry's school supplies, are yeh?" The man turned friendly, twinkling eyes on Harry. 

Sirius nodded. "Yes, sir! Harry will be starting at Hogwarts this fall."

"Tha's wonderful!" Hagrid boomed, laughing. "I work there, yeh see. Groundskeeper."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said, sticking out his hand and letting Hagrid shake it, even though he was quite sure Hagrid had shook more of his whole body than just his hand. 

"O' course, Mr. Harry James Potter!" Hagrid continued laughing, "see yeh at Hogwarts!" And then he was off, following a goblin that had emerged from a back hallway down into the bank.

"Here to retrieve coins for Harry Potter," Remus told the goblin at the desk.

"Got his key?" The goblin asked in a rather bored tone. 

"Right here." Sirius pulled the key out of a pocket in his cloak and showed it to the goblin. 

The goblin looked it over and nodded once. "Seems to be in order. Griphook!"

Another goblin appeared out of the back of the bank. 

"Griphook will take you to your vault," the goblin at the desk said.

Sirius and Remus ushered Harry to follow after the goblin Griphook, who pulled a lever and brought a cart shooting up toward them.

"In you go," Remus said, helping Harry climb into the cart, "careful to keep all limbs inside the ride at all times," he teased with a smirk. 

Siruis snorted as he climbed in beside Remus and Harry. 

Griphook whistled and off they shot, like the fastest rollercoaster that Harry had ever seen.

He tried to remember the course they followed, but it was nearly impossible, so he just held on to Sirius and laughed as they whipped through the underground of Gringott's toward where ever they were going. 

When they finally stopped, they were in front of a small door built into the wall itself. Griphook unlocked the door and pushed it open. 

Harry's eyes widened when he looked into the vault. 

"This is mine?" Harry asked, in awe. 

"All yours," Remus assured him, "left by your father and mother."

He never would've imagined that he owned all this. He never owned anything at the Dursley's, not really. His clothes had once been Dudley's, he didn't have any books, and the only entertainment he managed to find were Dudley's thrown out toys. 

"The gold ones are Galleons, the silver are Sickles, the bronze are Knuts. 17 Sickles to a Galleon, 29 Knuts to a Sickle," Sirius told him, picking up a coin and tossing it in the air. "

Remus helped Harry fill a small back with coins. "That should be enough for the shopping," he said.

The three of them exited the vault and climbed back into the cart. They shot off in the direction they had come and were soon topside once more. 

When they left the bank, Remus offered to go buy Harry's books while Sirius took Harry to get his robes. 

Remus headed toward the bookstore called Flourish and Blotts and Sirius and Harry walked to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"Off to Hogwarts?" a small, squat witch asked him when he walked in. He presumed she was Madam Malkin. 

"Yes, ma'am," he answered.

"This way, then. We got someone else in the back already trying on fittings for new robes." She lead him to the back of the shop, and Sirius stayed in the front. 

There was a small boy here, with a pale, pinched face, standing on a footstool as another witch bustled around him, pinning up the long black robes he was trying on. Madam Malkin took Harry over to another stool beside the first and draped an identical long, black robe over him and began pinning it to the right length. 

"Hello, Harry Potter," Harry said to boy.

He glanced at Harry. "Hello," he answered, "Draco Malfoy. Hogwarts, too?"

Harry nodded. "Yes."

"My father's next door buying books and my mother's up the street looking at wands-"

"My godfather said the wand picked the wizard," Harry interrupted, confused, "how could she pick your wand?"

The boy looked at Harry in surprise, whether at being interrupted or at his question, Harry wasn't sure. 

"Well, you would hope your mother knows you enough to know where to start," Draco answered, his voice sounding bored and rather clipped now. 

"I supposed," Harry murmured, "I've never had a mother. I wouldn't know."

"Everyone's got a mother," Draco drawled, as if Harry were stupid for thinking otherwise. 

"Sometimes mothers die," Harry snapped, now annoyed. Of course everyone had a mother. Some just didn't get to know them. 

"Oh," Draco said softly.

Harry looked over at the boy's change in tone. He saw a sad look on the other boy's face now, not one that looked haughty as when he'd first walked in. 

"So, I guess you are _that_ Harry Potter, then?" Draco asked, his voice still sounding sad. 

"Are there more than one?" Harry couldn't help the hopeful not in his voice.

"No, I don't supposed there are." Draco looked dismayed at that for some reason, which Harry didn't understand. Why should Draco be sad about Harry being Harry? If anyone should be sad it was him. And Harry quite liked himself, thank you very much. 

There was a small silence where Harry wasn't sure if anything more was going to be said, but then Draco addressed him once more. 

"Know what house you're going to be in, Harry Potter?" he asked. 

Harry shrugged. "I don't know much about the houses," he replied, "but Remus says they're all plenty good."

Draco's eyebrows raised in a look of mild surprise. Then he sneered. Harry wasn't sure he liked that look on his face. He much preferred the soft one from earlier. 

"Nonsense," he said, "of course some houses are better than others. Why else would we be sorted, otherwise?"

"Well, which house do you think is best then?" 

"Slytherin. My whole family was in Slytherin and I just know I'm bound to be, as well."

Harry may have been hearing things, but there was a small waver of trepidation in the boy's voice as he spoke about the house. 

"Perhaps you should be in the house you belong in," Harry suggested, "not the house your family's been in."

Draco looked at Harry as if that idea were absolutely ludicrous. 

"The only family I've got is full of evil, annoying, horrid people," Harry continued, "And if they were wizards I would stay as far from their house as I possibly could."

He felt a rush of pride as the composed boy let out a loud guffaw.

"I like my family well enough, thanks," Draco said, still giggling, "although I might feel the same if I had also been raised by muggles." He made a face at that. "Must've been terrible."

"Oh, it was," Harry assured him, "but I'm not sure if it's because they were muggle or because they were just nasty people. I set a snake on my cousin once. And I didn't even feel bad for it. That's how terrible they were."

Draco started laughing again, this time harder.

"Well, dear," Madam Malkin said, standing up, "you're all finished." 

Harry hopped off the stool and examined his new robes carefully.

"There'll be more flown to your address when you pay for them," she told him.

"See you at Hogwarts, then?" Draco asked as Harry left.

Harry nodded. "You should sit with me on the train," he said, "I don't know anyone else in the whole wizarding world. It'd be nice to have a friend."

Draco's eyes widened a little at Harry's invitation, but he didn't have time to reply as the other just grinned and waved as he followed Malkin out of the back room. 

Once Sirius and Harry had ordered enough robes for the school year, they headed off to Flourish and Blotts in search of Remus. They found him waiting just outside for them, looking ruffled and unpleased with something. 

"What's happened, Moony?" Sirius asked as they approached him, a small look of concern taking over his face. 

"Malfoy," Remus muttered shaking his head.

"I met Malfoy," Harry said, grinning, "he was being fitted for robes in Madam Malkin's."

"Draco?" Sirius asked. 

Harry nodded. "He's going to sit with me on the train."

Remus and Sirius looked at each other, but they didn't say anything.

"Let's continue the shopping, shall we?" Remus asked, not bothering to respond to Harry's statement. 

It confused Harry as to why the two were so weird about the Malfoy subject when Draco seemed nice enough to Harry. 

They finished they're shopping. Harry was intrigued by the Apothecary, with all of its creepy crawlies and mysterious smelling ingedients, but other than that nothing really held his interest. 

Then the three of them entered Olivander's. The last thing they had left to buy was Harry's wand. 

He thought about what Sirius had told him earlier, about the wand choosing the wizard, and about what Draco had said about mothers knowing you well enough to start. How was he supposed to know where to start? He had no mother to help him, he barely knew Sirius or Remus, and he didn't know anything about the wizarding world save for what he'd learned that day.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice.

Harry jumped.

An old man stood before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter. You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.

"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it -- it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.

"And that's where..."

Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do...."

"Sirius Black," Mr. Ollivander said suddenly with a shaky looking smile, "and Remus Lupin. I remember your wands as well. Black Walnut, 12 inches, Thunderbolt tail feather core, and Cypress, 10 3/4 inch, Unicorn hair core, respectively."

Remus and Sirius both smile and nod at Mr. Ollivander. 

"Now, for young Harry, here." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?

"Er -- well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."

Harry took the wand and waved it around a bit, feeling a bit foolish, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try --"

Harry tried, but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.

"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."

Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere -- I wonder, now - - yes, why not -- unusual combination -- holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.

Sirius whooped and Remus clapped.

Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "

He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious..

"Sorry, but what's curious?" Harry asked

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather -- just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. That didn't sound exactly promising.

"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember.... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter.... After all, He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things -- terrible, yes, but great."

Harry supposed he could live with that. 

The final stop was a surprise for Harry as Sirius stopped at Eeylop's Owl Emporium and came back out with a beautiful snowy owl, which he promptly gifted to Harry.

"Consider it an early birthday present, prongslet," Sirius said, ruffling Harry's hair affectionately. 

Harry grinned as the owl cooed at him happily. 

"I think I'll call you Hedwig," Harry said to her softly. 

She nipped his finger in affirmation. 

"Now, since you've been technically kicked out of you Aunt and Uncle's for the summer," Remus began, "how's about coming to live with us until you go off to Hogwarts?"

Harry whooped happily. "Yes!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down. He hugged Remus and then Sirius. "Oh, can I really?" he asked.

"Of course, Harry. We've been trying to get you to come live with us for ages now!" Sirius told him, "better late than never!"

Harry gave another happy whoop.


End file.
